In recent years there have been developed buttered table syrups which are stable and homogeneous. By the term "buttered table syrup" is meant a table syrup product having a sugar solids content of at least 65% by weight and butter in an amount of 1-5% by weight. By the term "butter" is meant whole butter or its equivalent such as butter fat or anhydrous butter oil.
Various emulsifiers are reported in the patent literature as being useful for buttered table syrups.
Pader, U.S. Pat. No. 3,057,734, discloses the use of water soluble proteins, gum arabic, and edible algin derivatives. For maximum emulsion stability, Pader prefers the polyhydric alcohol esters of alginic acid, e.g. propylene glycol ester of alginic acid. Pader also discloses that several other materials are not effective. Included among these are: fatty acid based emulsifiers such as "Spans" and "Tweens"; and gums other than gum arabic, gum arabic being useful with casein and its derivatives.
Topalian, U.S. Pat. No. 3,282,707 discloses the use of gum ghatti to stabilize a sugar syrup, and Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 3,362,833 discloses the use of gum ghatti and lecithin for the same purpose.
Daggy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,073,963, discloses the use of an emulsifier system for a buttered table syrup in which sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate and sorbitan monostearate are used. Daggy reports that several other materials are not useful. Among these are: xanthan gum, carrageenin gum, locust bean gum, guar gum, and pectin.
Difficulties have arisen, when stabilizers-emulsifiers such as carrageenan or lecithin alone are employed in stabilizing products such as table syrups, which must of necessity undergo prolonged storage in bottles or other containers prior to consumer use. Separation of the oil and aqueous phases has been noted when a table syrup employing an oil phase such as butter remains on the shelves of the retail outfit for several months. In many instances, there is at least partial separation of phases, which phases cannot be completely put into solution by the consumer by shaking the bottle. This separation constitutes an important disadvantage of buttered table syrups and has met with consumer dissatisfaction.
While the previously known emulsifiers are quite useful in providing storage-stable products in glass containers, a problem arises when these otherwise storage-table buttered table syrup products are bottled in polyolefin bottles such as polypropylene or polyethylene bottles. We have found that, when a stable buttered table syrup is bottled in a plastic bottle of this type, a substantial and objectionable off-flavor develops after a relatively short period of time.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a pourable, stable table syrup which does not develop an objectionable off-flavor when bottled in a polyolefin bottle. It is a further object of the invention to provide a method of bottling, in a polyolefin bottle, a stable buttered table syrup which does not develop an objectionable off-flavor.
The present invention should provide a stabilized emulsion which has improved stability against separation over prolonged periods of storage and is suitable for use as table syrup, topping, or the like.
The emulsion should further exhibit marked resistance to separation under repeated freeze-thaw cycles.